Flight 9
[video=youtube_share;SAVi8cRWlkw]http://youtu.be/SAVi8cRWlkw[/video]
Seem to getting a lot of tail rotation on pitch bumps this flight. Also pitching forward and right a bit. Not going to screw with settings on the 7200bx yet for this stuff.
Wind picked up a bit for this flight too. Idle up helped smooth out things.
Flight 10
Lasted 15 seconds, including spin up. Got it about 5 inches off the ground and got my nose-in left/right reversed and main blade scraped it to the heli's left into the ground. Lesson learned, I'm *not* good enough to do nose in take offs yet.
Damage list so far:
- Tail fin
- One canopy mount
- One servo horn
- One servo-swash link
- Bearing in middle bearing block (probably not crash related).
Main blades appear to have held up. No cracking or fractures that I've found so far (either laying on the table or with some flex stress applied). Despite them leaving some nice divots in the yard. Tail blades also look in good condition. Both main and tail blades have some marks from where they hit the blade holders. Plastic tail blades I'm not worried about. CF main blades have be a bit worried. But I think they're ok. Cleaned the mud and dirt off the tips and all seems well.
Took apart the head. Feathering shaft is fine. I noticed on the inner thrust bearing races that there were little marks. Recall that when I was putting it together that I felt a slight/subtle "bumpiness" when rotating the holders. I think this is what was causing it, slight imperfections in the machining of the race. They just show up now with the darkened old grease on them. Anyway, cleaned everything, relubed, and back together (TL too!).
Main shaft is good. Ran it with the head off and no perceptible wobble to sight or touch. Took the main gear assembly out. One tooth on the main gear got sheared off. Don't believe it is a problem but would appreciate input from you guys. Cleaned and relubed the OWB and spacer washer.
Oddly, the bearing in the middle main shaft support block is very notchy. Tried cleaning with brake cleaner and relubing. It helped a bit, but still sticking bad. I reoiled the bearings after the 7th flight (without tearing it down, just what I could reach which did include this bearing). So I have to replace the bearing or perhaps the whole block. Will see what I can find parts wise.
I don't believe this bearing is related to the crash. As I said, the main shaft is undamaged and I find it hard to believe the middle block, instead of the top or bottom block, would have taken the brunt of the crash force. Instead I think maybe there was a slight misalignment of the blocks around the main shaft from the start and the middle one was getting too much lateral pressure, resulting in bearing heating and premature failure.
Tail: with the main gear out, the tail spun freely with no perceptible binding or notchiness. Slider was good. When I spun it up under power earlier there was no evidence of a bent tail rotor shaft. Dabbed with alcohol and relubed everything. Took the tail rotor assembly off the shaft to make sure the holders were still free rotating and tight to the hub, all good. No evidence that the tail boom was bent or otherwise damaged. Gears on front and back of tube all look good with no damage or binding.
So I think I got lucky on this one, assuming I'm not missing something.
I have to put the main gear back in and spin it up. I was seeing much more wobble (up and down, like in my build thread video, but exaggerated by comparison). Hoping the tear down and rebuilt straightened something out. If not, may need to replace something, after I figure out what is causing it.
There is video. However, at the moment, shame prevents me from viewing it, much less posting it.
